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Symptom Comparison: Cold, Flu, and COVID-19

Some important points distinguish between symptoms of a cold, flu, or possible COVID-19 infection.

As the cold and flu season begins to recover, patients begin to experience a myriad of symptoms and seek help in identifying possible illnesses. There are some important points that can help you distinguish between possible colds, flu, or COVID-19 infections based on your symptoms.

Colds are generally slow to develop and usually affect the sinuses. This is in contrast to influenza, where symptoms tend to progress rapidly as they affect the airways and tend to include body aches, malaise, fever, and more.

However, COVID-19 can develop 2 to 14 days after exposure and tends to affect the airways with body aches, fever, sore throat, and new changes in taste and smell. Importantly, if a patient is suspected of having COVID-19, it is advisable to examine the patient to determine if it is the cause of the symptoms.

If it is positive, it is important for the patient to self-quarantine and notify those who are in close contact with the person who may have been exposed. Whenever a patient is experiencing dyspnea, they should be referred to the nearest emergency department (ED).

Recommendations for reducing risk include getting a flu shot, getting the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccine, staying hydrated, covering coughs and sneezing, and wearing a mask. This includes practicing hand hygiene and frequent disinfection of potentially infected surfaces.

If a patient experiences symptoms of the disease, some possible recommendations are to use OTC products to help manage the symptoms, seek help from a doctor if the symptoms are severe or do not go away with OTC intervention, symptoms. If the condition worsens or does not disappear after that, consult a doctor. Advise patients to manage their symptoms for 10 days and go to ED if they have symptoms of dyspnea.

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1.1. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/coldflu.htm

2. American family doctor. “Influenza: Diagnosis and Treatment” David Y. Gaitonde, MD; Cpt. Faith C. Moore, USA, MC; Major Mackenzie K. Morgan, USA, MC. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2019/1015/p505.htmPDF is (https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/journals/afp/Influenza.pdf).

3.3. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

About the author

Tiffany DiMarzio He is a PharmD candidate at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will graduate in the spring of 2022.

Jonathan Ogurchak, PharmD, CSPIs the CEO and co-founder of STACK, a pharmacy information management platform, and serves as the leader of the virtual Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiential Rotation for specialty pharmacies for which this article was created.

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Symptom Comparison: Cold, Flu, and COVID-19